MLB teams usually wait until spring training to decide which five members will constitute their starting rotations. Here are early predictions while we wait for exhibition games.

Those results don't solely determine preseason competitions, anyway. Coaching staffs instead consider how much major league experience their rotation candidates have, whether they'll be vulnerable to injury and whether they have sufficient command and pitch variety to pass through a lineup multiple times.

Every staff has at least one player locked into place, but there are plenty of unknowns, too. Even MLBDepthCharts is forced to make some blind guesses at this stage of the offseason.

Combining the site's projections with reports from baseball insiders led to the following conclusions.

Arizona Diamondbacks

McCarthy has joined the Arizona Diamondbacks on a two-year, $15.5 million contract. He's the most expensive free-agent pitcher signed by Kevin Towers since he took over as general manager.

The only uncertainty in this rotation comes from the No. 5 spot.

After trading away Trevor Bauer, the D-Backs will let Corbin and Tyler Skaggs compete for the job in spring training. Both struggled this past September, but the former showed greater command of his pitches. Skaggs can be expected to begin at Triple-A.

Daniel Hudson underwent Tommy John surgery last summer and could return sometime after the All-Star break.

Atlanta Braves

Brandon Beachy was the ace of the Atlanta Braves through June 2012, but had his breakout season derailed by a torn ulnar collateral ligament. He began a throwing program in October and hopes to rejoin the rotation by midseason.

The team hardly noticed his absence because Medlen—a Tommy John survivor himself—couldn't be beaten down the stretch (literally). Very quietly, Minor also caught fire as the year progressed. He limited opposing batters to a 2.16 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in the second half.

Delgado pitched decently before being demoted to the minors. He ought to break camp with the major league team, though über-talented Julio Teheran will have an opportunity, too.

Projected starters Feldman and Garza will definitely be dealt by the Chicago Cubs if they pitch well from the get-go. The rebuilding team still wants to acquire young pieces with whom to build a perennial contender.

Right-hander Scott Baker is in the same situation. However, don't bet on him being ready to start in April. When he does fully recover from elbow surgery, it might come at Villanueva's expense.

If the aforementioned veterans get traded, Arodys Vizcaino and Travis Wood could be inserted into the rotation.

Every pitcher who started a game for the 2012 Cincinnati Reds is still with the organization.

Unimpressed with Mike Leake's performance, they have decided to promote Aroldis Chapman from the bullpen.

The Cuban Missile excelled in the closer's role and reactions to his proposed move have been mixed. Some worry that being stretched out could lead to serious injury (e.g. Neftali Feliz). The rest believe he can make the transition smoothly like Chris Sale did for the Chicago White Sox.

Even if Chapman disappoints, Cincinnati's rotation should be formidable with Cueto and Latos leading it.

Cleveland Indians

ESPN Insider's Jason A. Churchill (subscription required) suspects that the Cleveland Indians could be in the hunt for Chris Capuano of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Presently, their rotation lacks a left-hander. They also have an internal option—former strikeout king Scott Kazmir, who spent 2012 in an independent league.

The Tribe have plenty of question marks. Carrasco didn't pitch last season and Myers appeared exclusively in relief. Newly acquired Trevor Bauer needs better command of his powerful stuff.

Cleveland's new additions put pressure on Jimenez to make adjustments after an abysmal second half (via Baseball-Reference.com).

Detroit Tigers

The one glaring omission here is Rick Porcello. He's arguably a better pitcher than Smyly, but not as good of a fit for the Detroit Tigers. His tendency to induce ground balls hurts them because their corner infielders have below-average range.

Porcello cannot co-exist with Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, but a handful of teams will be interested in trading for him in the coming weeks.

Each of the above starters kept their ERAs below 4.00 last season. Verlander, of course, is the best in the business.

Houston Astros:

The Houston Astros completed a few low-risk, low-reward moves to bolster their rotation.

John Ely and White were acquired in separate trades. Neither has strong stats at the MLB level, though the latter is only 24 years old, so it's too early to declare him a lost cause.

Humber's 2012 campaign went into a tailspin after his improbable perfect game. He couldn't tempt batters to chase outside of the strike zone, but he performed solidly for the Chicago White Sox the previous year.

Milwaukee Brewers

Aside from Gallardo, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com insists that none of the rotation candidates are assured to start. He writes, however, that Narveson (rotator cuff surgery) is "expected to be back to 100 percent" before reporting to Arizona in February.

Estrada's outstanding strikeout-to-walk ratio and consistency give him an edge over the younger Brewers.

Though Fiers struggled as the season wore on, the Milwaukee Brewers cannot dismiss his initial excellence (1.80 ERA, .547 OPS against through Aug. 7).

Rogers has to compete with Wily Peralta. Rogers is out of minor league options and not experienced in relief work, factors which should earn the soon-to-be 27-year-old an opportunity.

New York Yankees

Pettitte and Sabathia are the two most accomplished southpaws in the American League and their skills haven't diminished yet.

Even though both dealt with injuries in 2012, there shouldn't be much concern. Pettitte's shattered ankle has mended and Sabathia opted for an arthroscopic procedure to clean out his elbow.

Nova is the enigma of this group. He enjoyed a great rookie campaign for the New York Yankees, but couldn't prevent home runs as a sophomore.

Entering his age-26 season, David Phelps is a serious threat to claim the No. 5 spot. He started 11 times for the Yankees this past summer, mainly in August and September with a playoff berth on the line.

Philadelphia Phillies

The question is whether the Philadelphia Phillies have three aces or two.

Halladay's campaign was interrupted by a strained latissimus dorsi in his back. His performances before and after the injury were inconsistent, ending a streak of six straight years in Cy Young contention.

Kendrick and Lannan are prototypical back-end starters. Overall, this rotation is extremely experienced.

San Diego Padres

"We feel we have seven or eight guys who could start a game in April," general manager Josh Byrnes told Corey Brock of MLB.com. That kind of vague statement makes the prediction process awfully challenging.

Richard and Volquez are locks after starting throughout 2012. Recovered from an unlucky broken wrist, Marquis should join them from the onset.

Andrew Cashner and Cory Luebke will round out the rotation whenever they recover from a lacerated tendon and Tommy John surgery, respectively.

Although the Seattle Mariners share a division with left-handed sluggers Josh Hamilton, Carlos Pena and Josh Reddick, they aren't going to force a southpaw into the rotation. Perhaps later this summer, left-handed prospects Danny Hultzen and James Paxton can put the aforementioned sluggers at a platoon disadvantage.

Hernandez is arguably the sturdiest starter in the sport, but there's a dramatic drop-off from him to the other rotation members, none of whom has ever started 30 games in a single season.

The St. Louis Cardinals missed Garcia in the NLCS when he was sidelined with shoulder problems. The 26-year-old is fully healthy again and even considering participating in the World Baseball Classic.

Wainwright could realistically be a Cy Young Award contender in his second season back from Tommy John surgery. Other starters—Carpenter and Stephen Strasburg, for example—have excelled under the same circumstances.

Joe Kelly and Shelby Miller looked comfortable in their MLB debuts, though it's doubtful that either will make the 25-man roster.

Tampa Bay Rays

Despite the subtractions of Wade Davis and James Shields, the Tampa Bay Rays still possess an enviable collection of arms.

They must be excited to observe Moore follow in Price's footsteps. The former actually reached the majors at a younger age, and the stats from his first full season were even more encouraging.

Hellickson continues to surprise by surrendering very few runs with such hittable pitches. He's done it for part of three seasons, however, and the skeptics are beginning to cross over. The next step for him is to work more efficiently and survive into the later innings (only 2 CG in 64 GS).

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers have available payroll and a couple of competitive division rivals. It would be shocking if they didn't add another starter (likely via trade).

Darvish pitched beautifully to finish the season, but his occasional wildness and inability to hold baserunners need to be addressed.

Harrison, meanwhile, was a deserving All-Star whom the Rangers have wisely discussed offering a contract extension to. A high home run rate sabotaged Holland's 2012 numbers. He'll be better this coming season.

Until the anticipated move is complete, Texas has to worry about using Perez in the No. 5 spot coming off 38 unsuccessful innings.

Toronto Blue Jays

Veteran rotation leaders Buehrle and Dickey both did pretty well for themselves in the National League.

The latter is the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. His unique brand of knuckleball should be equally untouchable on the Toronto Blue Jays so long as he grips it the same way.

We cannot be as optimistic about Buehrle. On the Toronto Blue Jays, he'll be pitching in a hitter's ballpark and frequently visiting others around the AL East. It's practically assured that he leads the league in hits allowed for the fifth time in nine seasons (assuming he stays healthy).

Johnson and Morrow are classic power pitchers, but nobody knows how Romero will respond to an awful season.

Washington Nationals

Though the Washington Nationals don't have great depth behind their finest five, the 2013 season—and postseason—will go marvelously if none of them suffer from significant injury.

Gonzalez and Strasburg can punch out anybody when their offspeed pitches are biting. Lacking world-class stuff, Haren and Zimmermann relentlessly attack the strike zone. They put opposing batters in defensive situations and rarely walk a soul.

Even Detwiler maintained an above-average 3.58 earned run average over 27 starts last year. That's pretty impressive for a weakest link.